


Persistence

by sciencefictioness



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, Older Eren Yeager, Vague Sugar Daddy Vibes, Written For Eruriren Weekend 2018, Younger Eruris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-12 01:05:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15984293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sciencefictioness/pseuds/sciencefictioness
Summary: They’ve been mowing Eren’s lawn, and trimming his hedges, and cleaning his pool for years.  Since their senior year in high school, right about the time the two of them got together, more train wreck than romance. They have different tastes in music, they like different kinds of movies. They dress differently, speak differently, don’t play the same video games. Erwin dances, and Levi doesn’t, and honestly, it’s weird they work so well at all. One of the things they’ve always agreed on though—Eren Jaeger is a goddamn menace.





	1. Spring

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure I'll get a chance to post this tomorrow, and it's the fourteenth somewhere in the world, right? Anyway, here you guys go, please enjoy.

It’s far too hot. Hotter than it should be, but the last few weeks of May are not being kind to him, and Levi doesn’t know why he’s surprised.

 

His hair is soaking wet, like he’s been caught in the rain, or just stepped out of the shower.  It’s matted to his forehead, tips reaching his cheekbones, and he’s well past the point of needing a haircut but it never seems important until moments like this when he’s already miserable.  There are grass clippings all over his legs, sticking to the fabric of his shorts; he’s dirty, his arms sore already and they’re not even half finished.

 

The work is hard but the pay is good, and the view is even better.

 

When Eren is outside, anyway.

 

The years have been more than generous to him, and even coming up on the edge of thirty, he’s still the sexiest thing Levi has ever seen.

 

Levi wipes sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, letting the lawnmower he’s pushing roll to a stop and die with a rumble. Erwin glances over from where he’s trimming an unruly hedge with a pair of clippers, cocking an eyebrow up lasciviously. He looks towards the porch to see Eren emerging from his front door with a couple of ice filled glasses of lemonade, then back at Levi with a grin.  An expression Levi recognizes immediately, and he cringes inside.

 

He doesn’t know what Erwin is going to do, exactly, but he knows it’s going to be stupid.

 

Erwin lets the clippers fall down to his side and lifts the hem of his tank top up, flexing the muscles of his abdomen shamelessly as he wipes sweat from his face.  Levi rolls his eyes, because Erwin isn’t usually this pathetic, this obvious. Then when he looks up at Eren, he almost trips over his feet. He can’t be imagining it, how Eren’s gaze is lingering on Erwin, the way he stares for a moment before tearing his eyes away.

 

Levi glares, and fights the ridiculous urge to take his shirt off and flex like a moron.

 

Erwin grins until he drops his shirt back down, and the expression clears from his face like it was never there at all.  

 

Thirsty, sneaky fuck that he is, and Levi’s only angry he didn’t think of it first.

 

They both head eagerly over to the porch, sighing with relief as they climb the steps and get out of the sun.

 

“Brought you guys something to drink so you don’t die of heatstroke on my lawn,” Eren says with a soft smile, holding the two glasses out in offering. “Least I could do since I haven’t fixed the riding mower yet. Plus it’d be a pain in the ass to have to bury you in my backyard, especially since I wouldn’t be able to pay you to dig the holes.”

 

Eren’s hair is getting long, too, falling out of the ponytail he’s put it in, coppery strands curling around his chin. There’s stubble on his jaw, easily a few days’ worth, and Levi wants nothing more than to see how it feels under his mouth. He must have spent some time out in the sun as well, because his cheeks have the slightest bit of color to them, visible even on his dark skin. His eyes are bright with amusement, and Levi’s not sure why, but he does know they’re unfairly fucking pretty.  Erwin clears his throat loudly, lemonade already in hand, and Levi jolts; he’s been staring at Eren in silence.

 

“Oh uh… thanks,” he says dumbly, grabbing the glass and taking loud, desperate swallows. It keeps him from having to say anything else, and the lemonade is sweet, and cold, and perfect.  Eren’s smile doesn’t falter, but widens, and what Levi sees next can’t be real. Maybe it’s the heat, or the sun, or dehydration.

 

Maybe Levi’s just finally snapped, lusting after Eren for so long that his mind is playing tricks.

 

Eren winks at him, and Levi chokes, coughing up lemonade all over himself. Erwin pats his back, harder than necessary, stifling his laughter poorly as Levi wipes at his chin. Eren doesn’t laugh, but he does cover his mouth with his hand, and Levi wants to crawl under the porch and die. He’s sticky now, lemonade drying on his skin, but washing it off would be a wasted effort when there’s still so much lawn left to mow.

 

Eren watches from the porch swing as they finish working on his yard, rocking idly, scrolling through something on his phone.

 

Levi looks up once; catches Eren staring, and he smirks.

 

Winks again, and Levi accidentally lets the lawnmower sputter out under his hands. Eren grins, and Levi swears, and covers his face with his palm to hide his blushing.

 

-

 

Erwin and Levi head back to his place, and it’s empty as always. Levi’s uncle works out of town most of the time; it’s no great loss having him gone.  

 

They don’t make it to the shower, or to the bed, or even to Levi’s room. As soon as the door closes behind them they’re on one another, mouths messy as they kiss, gritty hands sliding over sun-warmed skin.

 

“God, he’s stupidly fucking hot, it’s not fair,” Levi mumbles between kisses, and Erwin hums in agreement, fingers sliding under Levi’s shirt and tearing it off over his head.  It falls to the floor at their feet, and Erwin’s palms splay out over Levi’s back, pulling him closer.

 

“It’s really not. He’s different lately though, he… he’s flirting, I swear he is,” Erwin says, leaning down to suck a mark into Levi’s throat. Levi groans and lets his head loll to the side to give him room, fisting a hand in Erwin’s hair.

 

“No he’s not,” Levi says, breathless, knees threatening to go out from under him.  

 

He pushes Erwin backwards until he hits the couch, and they tumble gracelessly down onto the cushions together. Erwin grunts as they rearrange themselves into a less awkward position, Levi straddling Erwin’s hips, Erwin’s hands on his thighs. Erwin’s eyes are ridiculously blue, hair golden in the dim light of the lamp, long blonde eyelashes fanning out over his lids as he blinks up at Levi with a grin.

 

He’s beautiful, and Levi’s chest goes tight with emotion for a moment before it fades back.

 

“Yes, he is! You got all zoned out staring at him, and he  _ winked _ at you!”  Erwin says, and Levi makes an annoyed sound through his teeth, and grinds down against him. They’re both hard, and Erwin lets out an appreciative moan, hands sliding up to grip Levi’s ass.

 

“Then I spit lemonade all over myself like a fucking moron,” Levi replies, voice higher than he’d like, rocking his hips in a slow rhythm. He rucks Erwin’s shirt up on his chest, scratching his nails over his abdomen, watching the muscles flex. “He did totally check you out when you did that stupid, absolutely not subtle thing with your shirt,” Levi says, biting his bottom lip as Erwin starts moving underneath him, want surging up in them both.

 

_ “Fuck,”  _ Erwin hisses, bending his knees to give himself some leverage and rocking up harder against Levi.  “He— christ, he winked at you again later, though, don’t think I didn’t see that shit,” he says, and the mere idea that Eren might be flirting with them is enough to have Levi shivering.

 

They’ve been mowing Eren’s lawn, and trimming his hedges, and cleaning his pool for  _ years _ .  Since their senior year in high school, right about the time the two of them got together, more train wreck than romance. They have different tastes in music, they like different kinds of movies. They dress differently, speak differently, don’t play the same video games. Erwin dances, and Levi doesn’t, and honestly, it’s weird they work so well at all. One of the things they’ve always agreed on though— 

 

Eren Jaeger is a goddamn menace.  

 

Wealthy enough that he doesn’t bat an eye when they blatantly overcharge him for the work they do. Sarcastic enough to keep up with Levi without trying, which is a turn on in and of itself.

 

Hot as the fucking sun, and Erwin and Levi bonded over their mutual crushes on him, trying and failing not to stare as he swam laps in his pool that first summer. He’d climb out over the side, water dripping down his biceps, and Erwin and Levi would share a helpless look and try not to whine.

 

It would be easier if Eren wasn’t skirting just on the edge of attainable. He’s twenty-nine to Erwin’s twenty-two, and Levi’s twenty-one. Older, but not so much older that it felt out of the realm of possibility, and there are never any girlfriends, never any boyfriends.  

 

They have to mow around a pride flag every June, though, and Levi doesn’t know if that makes it better or worse.

 

Erwin’s kisses are getting frantic, and Levi can’t blame him; it’s always like this when they come back from Eren’s house. Desperate, and fast, both of them pining for someone who’s always been fundamentally out of their league.

 

Except now Eren’s winking at them, and watching Erwin preen with something like interest. Calling them over more often, for increasingly insignificant things. He stays close, and he smells good, and he’s so strong— Levi knows it would be easy for Eren to pick him up, and put him wherever he likes, and he comes in shuddering bursts at the thought.

 

Calling Eren’s name as he finishes, but that’s okay, because Erwin does it sometimes, too.

 

They both lay there panting for a while, filthy as fuck, covered in grass and dirt and sweat with come drying in their clothes. Erwin pets through his hair, and Levi just breathes, mind still stuck on an image of Eren winking at him with an easy smile.

 

“I can’t believe you choked on your lemonade,” Erwin says, and Levi pulls his hair, then takes the first shower.


	2. Summer

Maybe things would be simpler if Eren wasn’t so damn  _ nice  _ all the time.  

 

If he didn’t always ask how their classes were going, genuinely curious about the answer, offering up advice sometimes. If he didn’t feed them more often than their own families, making ‘too much dinner’ without fail and sending leftovers home with them both. If he didn’t go out of his way to come up with work for them to do when Levi’s laptop broke, or his uncle stayed out of town too long, or he got a disconnection notice on their electricity bill.

 

Nobody’s pool needed cleaning that often, but they were there three times a week, scooping up leaves and measuring out chemicals. Swimming, because Eren insisted, because of course he did.

 

_ This pool is a waste if I’m the only one using it, come by anytime, you know where the key to the back door is hidden. _

 

Then there are all the little things Erwin can’t help but dwell on late at night; that Eren plays the same stupid video games as Levi, and plays them more often, unashamed of his enthusiasm.  That he can talk about history with Erwin with that same interest, even as Levi zones out with boredom. 

 

That he fills in gaps Erwin hadn’t known were there between the two of them, and when they leave him again it feels like something vital is missing.

 

Things would be simpler if Eren was just someone they wanted to fuck, instead of someone they wanted to keep.  

 

Someone they want to be kept by.

 

It would hurt less, how he is just out of reach, and Erwin’s hands itch to touch.  

 

Especially right now, with Eren lounging on a chair next to the pool in his swim trunks, wet and glistening in the sunlight. Levi dutifully scoops out the flower petals and leaves Eren’s filter has missed, and Erwin isn’t sure if he’s shirtless because of the merciless heat, or because Eren is there watching. Erwin spent the first part of the morning repotting flowers in Eren’s garden while Levi watered and trimmed, the shade of the fence and Eren’s towering magnolia tree a blessing, but now the sun is high and brutal.  

 

Levi’s shoulders are going pink already, and Erwin cringes for him, dreading the inevitable sunburn he’ll probably be nursing over the next few days.

 

“You forgot to put on sunblock,” Erwin says from where he is crouched down over a ceramic pot of dahlias, gesturing at Levi, soil falling off his gloves.  

 

Levi glances down at his shoulder, and swears, reaching up to prod tentatively at the inflamed skin. His nose is red, too, and it’s cute, but Erwin isn’t about to tell Levi that.  

 

He doesn’t want to get thrown in the pool with his clothes on, and Levi is fully capable of it.

 

Eren hops up out of his chair, heading towards the sliding glass doors that lead into his house with a wave of his hand.

 

“I have some, hold on,” he says, and is gone before Levi can protest.

 

Levi stares after Eren for a moment before looking down at his hands. They’re dirty from helping Erwin, bits of leaf and grass stuck to them, and he lays down the skimmer he’s been using and crouches down next to the pool. He reaches out like he’s about to rinse them off in the water, and Erwin hisses, loudly enough to startle him.

 

“Don’t you  _ dare,”  _ he says, and Levi frowns.

 

“Don’t what?” Levi asks, missing the point entirely, and Erwin gives an exasperated sigh.

 

“You’re hopeless, I swear.  Don’t do that. Pick that thing up, get back to work before he gets back,” Erwin says, and Levi furrows his brows in confusion but obeys.

 

It’s only a minute or so before Eren reappears, a bottle of sunblock in hand. Erwin watches him unscrew the lid to peel back the foil seal underneath, and affection wells up in him. Eren never wears sunblock, doesn’t burn no matter how long he spends in the sun, and no one else ever uses his pool. Erwin doesn’t, either, skin tanning in the summer as Levi’s blisters and peels.

 

Eren bought it just for Levi, on the off chance he might need some.

 

Eren holds it out, and Levi looks down at his hands again, realization dawning. He narrows his eyes at Erwin, who looks deliberately away, focusing intently on the flowers he’s planting.

 

“I can do it, if you want?” Eren asks, and Erwin would almost believe it was an innocent offer, if he hadn’t glanced up at him.

 

He’s biting his bottom lip, and eating Levi alive with his gaze, and Levi nods dumbly in agreement. Turns around to give Eren his back and looks to Erwin with a helpless expression, like he isn’t sure if he wants to punch him or thank him.

 

Eren squeezes a generous dollop of sunblock into his hand, and sticks the tube underneath his arm to hold it. He rubs his hands together, and then lays his palms over Levi’s shoulders, spreading the thick white cream across them. Levi flinches at the first touch, but Erwin’s fairly sure it’s less because of the sunburn, and more because it’s Eren.

 

“Hurts?” Eren asks, hands moving slow over Levi’s skin, and Levi shakes his head.

 

“Feels good,” he answers in a daze, low and fucked out, and then hears himself, hears how he sounds. A voice Erwin has heard more times than he can count, and it’s Pavlovian, the way he responds to it.

 

The same voice Levi uses when he’s railing Erwin into the mattress, or bending him over some furniture.  Erwin swallows and adjusts himself through his clothes.

 

Levi’s arm twitches, like he’s going to cover his face with his hand, but then he drops it back down and clenches his fist instead. He’s not looking at Erwin now, not looking anywhere, jaw tensed and eyes closed tight. Eren’s hands slide smoothly down Levi’s shoulder blades, working the sunblock in carefully. Then he adds more to his hands and takes a step forward, until he’s pressed up against Levi’s back.

 

“Gonna get your chest, too, yeah?” Eren says, but it’s a question, a request for permission.  Levi nods again, tilting his head to the side. Eren rests his chin on Levi’s shoulder and wraps his arms around him, and Erwin can see the way Levi shudders at the contact.

 

Can almost feel it, muscle memory telling him everything he needs to know about how wrecked Levi is, just by having Eren close.

 

Eren catches Erwin staring and holds his gaze, palms moving in languid circles over Levi’s chest, fingertips splayed wide. There’s nothing challenging there, nothing hostile— he’s teasing, watching Erwin watch them, mouth curving up in a pleased smile. Even when the sunblock has vanished into Levi’s skin he doesn’t stop, hands lingering for no other reason than Eren just wants to keep touching him.  

 

Levi’s chest heaves, breathing too heavy, visibly hard in his trunks. Not that Erwin can criticize, Eren hasn’t laid a hand on him and he can feel himself throbbing with need. After what feels like an eternity Eren finally stops, hands sliding off Levi and urging him to turn around. Levi does, heavy lidded and hazy, following where Eren leads him.

 

Eren puts a tiny drop of sunblock on each thumb, and tosses the bottle in the general vicinity of the chair he’d been sitting in without looking. He lifts his hands and gently spreads the lotion over Levi’s cheeks, over the bridge of his nose. He’s cupping Levi’s jaw, fingertips easing into his hair, so close Erwin wants to lean in, himself. Wants to erase the distance on Levi’s behalf, and bring their mouths together. Finds himself holding his breath, and Eren goes still, cocking his head to the side.

 

“Better?” Eren asks, voice just as fucked out as Levi’s had been, and Levi lets out a rough breath and nods again.

 

“Much better,” he says, overwhelmed. Eren smiles, and takes a step back.

 

“I’m glad,” Eren replies, and Erwin exhales, heart starting up again in earnest.

 

Levi turns and sticks the skimmer back into the water, but takes a moment to tuck his face into bicep, and just breathe.

 

When Erwin glances back over at Eren he winks, and Erwin knocks over the terracotta pot he’s been holding. It breaks, dirt and clay spread out at his feet, and Erwin sighs in defeat. Refuses to look up.

 

Knows Eren’s smiling.

 

-

 

This time they don’t even make it inside the house.

 

It’s almost dark outside when they get to Levi’s, and Levi tackles Erwin onto the porch, both of them going down hard. Erwin is going to have bruises, but he doesn’t care, doesn’t even feel it right now. They’re barefoot, sandals and tank tops forgotten in the floorboards of Erwin’s truck alongside a couple of half-empty sports drinks Eren had given them. Levi smells faintly of coconut, sunblock lingering on his skin, alongside the fading traces of chlorine on them both.

 

He lets Levi roll him onto his back, and Levi wastes no time, one hand snaking into Erwin’s damp swim trunks, the other fisting in Erwin’s hair and tugging his head roughly to the side. His teeth are sharp on Erwin’s throat, and Erwin’s thighs spread of their own accord, an instinctive reaction.

 

Giving Levi what he wants, always, and Levi groans at the movement. Slips his hand down further, past Erwin’s balls, fingertips nudging between his cheeks.  

 

“Levi,” he whines, unable to force his thoughts into anything coherent. Levi sucks a hickey into Erwin’s neck, and that’s going to be awkward later when his family notices, but he can’t find it in himself to complain.

 

“Saw you watching,” Levi murmurs into Erwin’s skin, and Erwin grinds down into his touch, and nods.

 

“Yeah. God,  _ fuck,  _ Levi,” he says, glad they’re mostly hidden by the porch railing, Levi’s dilapidated porch swing still rocking back and forth above them where they’d knocked into in on their way down. The sun is mostly set, and there are cicadas buzzing somewhere faraway, fireflies glinting on the edges of Levi’s yard.

 

Idyllic, if not for the way Levi’s rubbing teasing little circles against him, grinding his cock against Erwin’s thigh, kissing up his jaw. 

 

“That what you’re gonna do if Eren fucks me? Sit there and watch?” Levi asks, and Erwin groans, and shakes.

 

“I would, I would, I- fuck it was so hot, thought- thought he was gonna kiss you,” Erwin stammers out, and Levi lets go of his hair to slide his free hand down and wrap it around Erwin’s cock.

 

“Me too. Could feel your eyes on me. Want that, want- want you watching. Wanna fuck you while he fucks me,” Levi says, stroking Erwin hard and fast, rutting down onto his thigh.  

 

Erwin holds onto him, fingers digging into Levi’s bicep, heedless of the pink expanse of his sunburn. He comes over Levi’s fingers, head knocking back hard into the porch, the whole world upside through the slats of the railing as Erwin gasps through it. Levi’s hips roll into him, and Erwin’s already oversensitive, but Levi keeps working him anyway.

 

Likes making him writhe, making him tremble, and Erwin shivers and twists underneath him as Levi fucks into his thigh. He sinks his teeth into Erwin’s shoulder as he comes, breathing hard through his nose, quaking all over with every shaky little thrust of his hips.  

 

Eventually Levi goes limp, collapsing on top of Erwin with a huff. They listen to buzzing of the cicadas, and watch fireflies blink in the fading rays of the evening sun. A dog is barking a few houses down, the same dog that is always barking and never seems to stop.

 

After a while Erwin starts to get sore, the come smeared on his stomach drying uncomfortably, the porch too hard underneath him, and they finally go inside.

 

It’s lonely somehow, after, and Erwin doesn’t want to admit it’s because Eren isn’t there.


	3. Autumn

When it happens it’s gentler than Levi expects.  

 

They both have classes in the fall, Erwin dragging himself up to the college every day while Levi opts to take his online. People are overrated, for the most part, and he likes to minimize his exposure to them whenever possible. It would be fine, except that his uncle doesn’t have internet, and the hotspot on Levi’s phone will only do so much. He does his work at Erwin’s at first, after he gets through for the day, but that doesn’t leave them with much time to spend together.  

 

Coffee shops are cesspits of humanity, and Levi hates them, but he doesn’t have much choice.  Not if he wants to actually see his boyfriend without the ever present screen of his laptop between them. It’s still better than going to the university campus, so Levi chokes quietly on the smell of coffee beans and hides in a corner on his computer, acutely miserable.

 

Until Eren stumbles across him there,  _ come to my house, I have wi-fi, it’s no trouble. _

 

_ Don’t be a stubborn ass, Levi, just get in the fucking car. You know where my key is, you’re being ridiculous. _

 

Eren is gone during the day, so Levi doesn’t actually see much more of him than before, but spending hours in his house is self indulgent in a dangerous, beautiful way. He sits in Eren’s chair, and eats at his table, and hates the way just existing in his space feels so right it hurts.

 

It’s impossible not to notice the changes as the weeks go on, Eren accommodating Levi in thoughtful little ways. There are blankets on the couches, plush and thick, ever since Levi mentioned it was cold. A box of the tea Levi likes sits on the counter, untouched, waiting for him to give in and use it.

 

The fruit bowl migrates from the kitchen to the coffee table, and the island separating the two rooms transforms into something like a snack bar. There are pastries from the bakery downtown, always fresh, all Levi’s favorites and then some; a few of them smell like pumpkin, which Levi hates. Which Eren hates, too.

 

But Erwin likes it, and picks them out without fail when he comes by on the days he gets out of class early. The fridge has a whole row of the nasty sodas Erwin drinks, and they only ever go missing when he takes one. There are three controllers for all of Eren’s game consoles, even though they’ve never played together, and it’s hard not to read into it.

 

How everything is so meticulously catered to them, yet Eren hasn’t said a word.

 

Eren’s house gets warmer, and quieter, and more comfortable. Levi doesn’t want to go home when he’s done with his work; takes naps on Eren’s couch, sometimes with Erwin, sometimes alone.

 

Takes naps in Eren’s bed, and he’s grateful Eren’s a little bit messy, because it’s always unmade. Levi crawls into the blankets and breathes Eren in, too embarrassed to tell Erwin about it. He finds him there one day— wakes him, a shit-eating grin on his face, and Levi flushes hot and hides under the covers.

 

They get off together there, tangled up in Eren’s sheets, caught up in their fantasy. That Eren wants them there.

 

That Eren wants them at all. 

 

Erwin is a bad influence, and Levi is desperate with a hunger he can’t sate, unable to resist.  

 

The leaves change and fall, and Erwin and Levi pull out Eren’s leaf blower unprompted late one afternoon and start working. He’s going to ask them to do it sooner or later, and Eren’s made Levi’s life so much easier that it feels shitty to charge him for it. It’s cold outside, the wind biting through Levi’s hoodie, blowing Erwin’s hair into his eyes.  

 

It’s not late, but it’s already starting to get dark by the time they’ve got the last pile all raked together, the sun dropping low in the sky. Half an hour, maybe, and everything will be bagged up, ready to go to the curb.

 

Except then Erwin tackles Levi into the leaves, sending them flying, trying to pin him down in the mess.  

 

He should know better by now.

 

Does know better, but Erwin seems to like the way Levi can flip them, how easy it is for him to manhandle Erwin where he wants him. It takes a few moments, and Erwin’s laughing, but Levi eventually gets there— Erwin’s arms held over his head, knees on either side of his hips, feet hooked over his thighs to keep him still.  His eyes shine, and his cheeks are flushed with the cold, and he’s so pretty like this that Levi aches with it.

 

“You’re such a dick,” he says, and Erwin grins, and grinds up in to him.

 

“Mmmm, yeah, tell me what a big dick I am,” Erwin replies, and Levi squeezes his wrists harder, and makes a noise through his teeth.

 

“Like it matters, you don’t know what to do with it anyway,” Levi snarks back. Erwin just grins wider, spreading his thighs a bit.

 

“But you do, yeah? Know  _ just  _ what to do with,” Erwin lilts, and Levi can’t help but lean down and kiss him.

 

Slow, and messy, and Erwin flexes against Levi’s hold on his wrists but doesn’t try to get free.  The leaves crunch as Erwin shifts in them, and the wind is undoing some of their work, but Levi doesn’t mind. Their tongues spill together, and Erwin tastes like coffee, like the sweetness of whatever pastry he snuck when he went inside earlier. Levi drops his elbows down, bracketing the sides of Erwin’s head with them, fingers petting through his hair. Once his hands are free Erwin wastes no time bringing down to cup Levi’s ass. He squeezes, urging Levi to rock idly against him, but then there’s a noise off to the right that has both of them jerking back.

 

Eren is there watching with soft eyes, and a soft smile. His jeans are dirty, and he’s got a toolbelt held loosely in one hand. There’s plaster in his hair, and he looks tired, and filthy, and in desperate need of a shower.

 

He looks gorgeous, and Levi wants to beckon him closer. Grab his shirt, and pull him down, and— 

 

“Don’t stop on my account,” Eren says, but Levi is already stumbling up to his feet and brushing leaves off his clothes before he processes the words. Erwin follows suit, and they must look ridiculous, wrestling in Eren’s yard like teenagers. There’s a stick in Erwin’s hair, and Levi reaches up, and pulls it free.  

 

“You could join us,” Erwin says, and Levi blushes so fast he can feel the heat in his face. Nods, though, and bites his lip, reaching out to tangle his fingers in Erwin’s. Needs the steady pressure of Erwin’s touch.

 

Needs something to hold besides his breath.

 

Eren watches them, and everything feels weightless, suspended in the moment as Levi waits to see what he’ll do. Then he drops his toolbelt to the ground, and Levi can hear his own heart beating, feels it pounding loud in his ears. Eren crosses the distance between them, stray leaves crunching under his feet, and Erwin squeezes Levi’s hand harder when it trembles.

 

Eren’s warm when he reaches up to hold Levi’s face between his palms.

 

Warmer still when he brings their mouths together, it’s nothing like he expected it to be when Eren finally kissed him. Levi expected fireworks, expected ferocity.  

 

This is sweet, and careful, like Eren is afraid of pushing too hard, or moving too fast. He’s rubbing his thumbs back and forth over Levi’s cheekbones, and Levi whimpers, leaning into the touch. When Eren pulls back Levi presses forward, wanting more, wanting it  _ now.  _ Eren huffs a laugh, and leaves one hand on Levi’s cheek as he leans over towards Erwin.

 

Levi watches them kiss, just as gentle, and he is alive with the rightness of it all. Eren’s hand on Erwin’s throat, holding him close as their mouths move together. Erwin’s hand shifts, lacing their fingers tighter together, and Eren eases back with a smile.

 

“I want to,” he says, looking cautiously between Levi and Erwin, as though he isn’t sure what they’ll say. “Everything’s better when you’re here. I think about you both all the time when you’re gone.”

 

“Yeah?” Erwin asks, and he sounds young, and nervous, and awestruck.

 

“Yeah,” Eren says back, reaching out to hold their hands. “I want you, but I also want you to think things over. There is nothing casual about the way I feel. I can’t do this halfway, and I don’t want you to, either.”

 

It’s hard to leave.  

 

Eren indulges them both in lingering, breathy kisses, again and again, even as he gently insists they should probably head home. It’s late, it’s cold, Erwin has class the next day.

 

They stand on his front porch for what feels like ages, taking turns pressing their mouths to Eren’s. Levi stretches up on his toes, totally unashamed of the picture he makes, straining up to meet Eren’s lips.  It’s pitch dark by the time they finally make make it to Levi’s, and there’s no desperate making out, no roaming hands, no needy grinding.

 

Erwin and Levi lay in his bed, staring at each other by the light of his lamp, smiling like idiots.  Every now and then Levi lifts his hand to his mouth, and presses his fingers there. Rubs them back and forth where Eren kissed him, awestruck, like he can’t quite believe it. Erwin catches him doing it, and grins again, reaching out to tangle their fingers together.

 

Eren wants them to think things over, but they’ve been doing that for a long time now.  Fantasizing about what their lives would be like with Eren slotted into them— how everything would be different.

 

How much better it would be if they could stop holding back, and start moving forward.

 

Levi goes to Eren’s house the next morning like always, and Erwin leaves his classes early to join him.

 

They crawl in Eren’s bed to wait for him, but fall asleep well before he gets home. 

 

When he finds them there, he smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say nice things to me <3


	4. Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rolling in before midnight counts as on time, right? Right?

The sight of Eren in flannel and wielding an axe is welcome, in and of itself, but the circumstances accompanying it are not ideal. Levi watches Eren chop wood through the glass doors that open to the backyard, a mug of hot chocolate in hand, he and Erwin ensconced safely inside.  The power is out; the first real outage they’ve had this winter, and the house is mostly dark, flames dancing in the fireplace and throwing shadows on the walls. Candles flicker everywhere— on the coffee table, the kitchen island, the shelves. The whole place smells like cinnamon, and gingerbread, the scents of Erwin’s candles and Eren’s cookies mingling together.

 

Levi’s wearing one of Eren’s sweaters, big enough that it keeps falling off his shoulder, but it’s soft, and warm. He’s wearing his pajamas, too, and his socks, both ugly red flannel that Eren insists is ‘festive’.

 

They’re hideous, and Levi loves them.

 

Levi moved in a month ago, and he’s fairly sure his uncle hasn’t even noticed yet. Erwin still technically lives at home, but it’s in name only, as most nights he’s here with Eren and Levi. It’s just a matter of time before he gives in and loads up the rest of his stuff, because Eren was right, what they have isn’t some fling, isn’t casual.

 

This is it for Levi, for Eren, for Erwin. Endgame.  

 

Happily ever after.

 

Erwin wraps an arm around Levi, tucking a blanket over them both. He’s drinking some peppermint abomination, and he pulls Levi into him, and sighs breathily.

 

“God, that’s beautiful,” Erwin says as Eren swings the axe, and Levi hums his agreement.

 

Snow falls softly all around Eren outside, his breath fogging in the cold. He took his jacket off a while ago, and the flannel he’s wearing stretches across his biceps with every swing. There’s already plenty of wood inside, but Eren doesn’t want to run out, isn’t sure how long the electricity will be off. There’s a fairly hefty pile at his feet, and he gives it a considering look, before glancing over towards the house. Sees Levi and Erwin watching, and smirks, like he knows exactly what they’re thinking.

 

Erwin breathes on the glass until it fogs and draws a cartoonishly large dick with a heart around it in the condensation. Eren laughs, and shakes his head, leaving the axe imbedded in the stump he’s been using as a chopping block and picking up the wood at his feet. He stacks it up next to the backdoor, making a few trips to get it all and covering it up with small tarp. Eren stomps the snow off his boots and comes in the house, kicking them off just inside the door. He nods at Erwin’s drawing, tossing his gloves onto a nearby table and grinning.

 

“Self-portrait?” Eren asks, and Erwin nods emphatically.

 

“Absolutely, yes. Think you can do a better rendition? I’d be glad to model for you, if you like.”

 

Levi is already walking away, setting his empty mug on the coffee table and sitting down in the makeshift bed they’ve constructed on the floor in front of the fireplace. Eren’s mattress is there, covered in blankets and pillows, just far enough away from the fire screen to placate Eren’s concern about them combusting. Erwin collapses beside him, and they both lay back against the pillows, and look expectantly at Eren.

 

“You gonna stand there all day, or…?” Erwin asks, and Eren holds his hands up in front of him.

 

“I need to wash my hands,” he says, and Levi shrugs carelessly.

 

“Okay then,” he says, hands slipping under Erwin’s clothes, mouthing lazy up his throat.  

 

They’ve been waiting somewhat impatiently for him to come inside, and watching him throw an axe around hasn’t helped things in the slightest.  Eren makes a noise as he watches them kiss, something high and pitiful, and stumbles over his feet on the way to the kitchen.

 

Levi wastes no time tugging Erwin’s clothes off and laying him out in the blankets, knees wide and eyes hooded. The water runs in the kitchen, and Levi slicks up his fingers with the half empty bottle of lube they’d brought from the bedroom, and presses them into Erwin. He’s done this countless times, but it never gets old, the way Erwin goes absolutely pliant for him. Erwin opens easy; he’s eager, rocking down onto Levi’s fingers, head lolling back on the pillows.

 

Levi doesn’t notice the water turning off, but he does hear Eren’s sharp inhale just before he swears low.

 

He’s still not used to it, having Erwin and Levi like this; all of them, always.  

 

“Oh my  _ god,”  _ he says, and Levi hears the soft whump of Eren’s shirt on the floor, then the telltale sound of him shucking his jeans.

 

He’s naked when he kneels on the mattress behind Levi, hands slipping under Levi’s sweater, splaying out over his stomach. Eren kisses up Levi’s throat, and Levi tilts his head to the side to allow it, fingers sliding wet between Erwins cheeks.  

 

“Fuck, that’s a pretty sight,” Eren murmurs into Levi’s skin, watching him work Erwin open, teasing Levi’s nipples under the fabric of his sweater. Erwin’s cock twitches at the praise, precome pulsing out over his stomach, and Levi smirks.

 

“Don’t encourage him, he’s already fill of himself,” he says, and Erwin huffs indignantly.

 

“Full of you, too,” Eren adds with a smile in his voice, and Levi’s grin goes wider.

 

Eren’s hands slide down Levi’s body, and he eases one hand up next to Levi’s, swiping his fingers through the mess of lube there.

 

“How about I take care of  _ this,”  _ Eren says, slipping two fingers into Erwin alongside Levi’s.   They watch his jaw fall wide at the sensation, and Eren crowds up behind Levi, and forces him to to lean forward.  “And you take care of  _ this,”  _ Eren finishes, wrapping a hand around Erwin’s shaft, stroking it slow.

 

Erwin’s cock is something Levi’s only truly learned to appreciate very recently. It’s big—  intimidatingly so, large enough that Levi can’t close his fingers all the way around it, curving up high on his belly. It’s not that Levi doesn’t enjoy it; Erwin feels good in his mouth. Levi likes touching him, likes sucking him off.  Likes the way his lips stretch around Erwin, how his mouth is always too full, drool dripping down his chin. 

 

But Erwin is lazy in bed, content to lay back and let Levi do as he likes, and what Levi always liked was to fuck him raw. Neither of them had ever had much inclination to switch things around, especially not Erwin, who didn’t seem to know what the hell he was doing when they attempted anything else.

 

Then Eren found out Erwin had never actually topped anyone, and looked like he might cry.

 

An injustice, he said, and Eren rode Erwin’s cock until they were both shaking and incoherent.

 

Erwin still has zero initiative to take matters into his own hands in the bedroom, but it only took one night of Eren carefully working Levi open and easing him down on Erwin’s cock for him to realize he’d been missing out.

 

All that time he could have been doing this, and Levi was a goddamn fool.

 

He nods his agreement to Eren’s suggestion, because honestly, it sounds too good to resist. Levi lifts up on his knees a bit, and Eren eases his hands away from Erwin to tug his pajamas down to his thighs.  There’s the click of lube, Eren’s mouth sliding distractedly on Levi’s throat, then his fingers press wet and cool between Levi’s cheeks.

 

It never gets old, Eren’s hands on them, and in them, everything inundated with his scent.  Waking up in his bed, and falling asleep in his arms, and Levi still feels like he’s dreaming sometimes.

 

Not right now, though.

 

Right now everything is vividly, unmistakably real.

 

Levi arches his hips back into Eren’s touch, still working Erwin, more of a tease than anything else at this point.  Erwin’s ready, cock throbbing in Levi’s hand, body loose and open, but Levi isn’t so he’s going to have to wait.

 

Eren rubs gentle circles against Levi for a moment before pressing in with two of his fingers, and Levi relaxes around them, head falling back on Eren’s shoulder.  It’s been a few days since he’s taken either one of them, a week maybe, and Levi hums at the stretch, turning his face into Eren’s throat with a blissful sigh. Kisses at his neck, licking absently, and he’s not fingering Erwin with any kind of rhythm anymore.  Just holding his fingers inside him, and gripping his cock, focusing on the feel of Eren’s touch.

 

Erwin huffs a laugh, and starts rocking his hips down on Levi’s fingers.  Which is fine, Levi thinks, it’s only fair that he do some of the work sometimes.  Levi just keeps sucking at Eren’s throat as Eren edges another finger into him, and the way he’s fucking Levi open isn’t impatient, but it isn’t slow, either.  He spreads his fingers apart, bends them, turns them, forcing Levi to relax further.

 

It will still be an adjustment, taking Erwin’s cock.  It always is, but Levi has enough practice now that it isn’t quite so daunting.  It’s awkward when Eren eases his pinky in alongside the others, a strange angle but Levi lets him without protest, knows he’ll be glad for it in a moment.

 

He squeezes his fingers around Erwin, and flexes his thighs, anticipation surging higher in him as Eren slides his other hand down Levi’s abdomen to take hold of his cock.   It’s half hard, and Eren strokes it the rest of the way there, tracing Levi’s rim with his thumb and feeling the way he’s stretched around his fingers.

 

“You good?” Eren asks, and Levi nods, thrusting up into his fist a couple of times, pulling his fingers out of Erwin absently.  “Mmmm, all right,” he says, sliding his own hand free and helping Levi struggle the rest of the way out of his clothes.

 

The sweater goes without issue, but the pants are trickier.  It takes a minute but they manage to get them off, and then Levi is kneeling up over Erwin’s cock, Eren holding it steady as he eases himself down onto it.  Erwin’s crown slips in, and Levi stops, lets himself adjust. Eren’s sucking at his throat, fingers tracing where Levi and Erwin are coming together almost reverently, groaning as Levi takes more of him.

 

“Yeah, God, that’s hot,” Eren mumbles into Levi’s skin, Erwin’s fingertips digging into his thighs as he sinks further.  

 

It’s slow going, but eventually Levi is sitting flush with Erwin’s hips, jaw falling wide as he pants through the feeling of being blissfully, overwhelmingly full.  Levi grinds down onto Erwin, reveling in the stretch, and Erwin makes a punched out noise that has Levi smiling. When he opens his eyes Erwin looks dazed, lashes fluttering as he rocks up into Levi, rubbing his hands up and down Levi’s thighs.

 

“Too much?” Levi lilts, and Erwin gives his ass a distracted slap, and glares.

 

As best he can glare with blown pupils and flushed cheeks, lips swollen and panting out rough breaths.  Levi leans down to kiss him, and Erwin takes his face in both hands, and kisses him back. He feels Eren moving behind him, guiding Erwin’s thighs wider, shifting his hips.  

 

Knows Eren’s pressing into him when Erwin’s mouth drops open against his, spine arching as he whimpers into Levi’s lips.  Erwin’s hands fall down over his head, grasping at the pillow there, and Levi grins. Reaches up to fist a hand in his hair, tugging his head to the side and running his nose up the shell of Erwin’s ear.

 

“You make the prettiest face when you’re taking Eren’s cock,” he says, just to watch Erwin squirm at the words.  

 

Erwin tries to reply, something sarcastic undoubtedly, but it’s cut off when Eren thrusts into him sharply.  The movement carries through to Levi as Erwin jerks in response, and then there’s no more talking, no more teasing.

 

Levi sits up and leans back against Eren, bracing himself so he can better roll his hips, fucking himself on Erwin with a desperate sort of eagerness.  He hadn’t realized how badly he needed this until he was already in the midst of things, but now the edge of his desire is sharp and building, just this side of frantic.  Levi reaches behind himself, looping an arm up around Eren’s neck, sinking his fingers into Eren’s hair and holding on. Erwin is incoherent underneath them, thighs twitching as Eren ruts into him in a punishing rhythm, Levi rocking atop him.  

 

Erwin isn’t going to last long, not with both of them moving with merciless intent.  Eren hooks his arms under Erwin’s knees and pulls him roughly down onto his cock, hard and fast, just how he likes it.  Levi lifts himself up, lets Eren to the work for both of them for the moment, feels the stretch and slide as Erwin passively fucks into him.  Eren’s got his face tucked into Levi’s throat, biting at him, licking wet over the skin.

 

_ “Fuck,”  _ Erwin hisses, arching further off the mattress, muscles tensing and eyes falling closed.

 

“That’s it, there you go, baby,” Eren says, breathless as he rails Erwin harder, fucking him higher in the mess of pillows and blankets.

 

Erwin makes a broken noise, and comes, heat pulsing into Levi in bursts.  Levi’s incredibly full, suddenly, the stretch of Erwin’s cock and the rush of his come almost too much to take.  Eren keeps going, working Erwin through the shakes, through the blissful wave of his orgasm. Levi doesn’t think Eren is even aware of the things he’s saying, telling Erwin how good he feels, how beautiful he looks.  When Erwin is trembling with overstimulation Eren stops, petting Erwin’s thighs gently, like he’s soothing a skittish animal.

 

“Perfect, that’s perfect.  Now Levi, just…,” Eren pauses, laying a palm between Levi’s shoulder blades and pressing down.

 

Levi goes where Eren leads him, collapsing against Erwin’s chest, his soft cock slipping out of Levi in the process.  Some of Erwin’s come drips out of him, warm and wet as it slides down his thigh, and Levi can’t help the whine that pours out of him when Eren slips into the space Erwin left behind.

 

“So good for me.  Just like that,” Eren says, pressing into the messy clench of Levi’s ass, palm still splayed out on Levi’s back.  Pinning him down against Erwin, his other hand curled around Levi’s hips, holding him in place as he  _ moves. _

 

Eren is just as rough with Levi, and every vicious thrust of his hips has Levi’s eyes rolling up in his head, mouth hanging open, hands clutching at Erwin’s arms.  Erwin pets his hair out of his eyes, and presses kisses to his face.

 

“You make the prettiest face when you’re taking Eren’s cock,” Erwin lilts, parroting Levi’s words; far too amused with himself, but Levi doesn’t even care.  

 

Just rocks under Eren, shoving his face into Erwin’s neck and sinking his teeth in with a whimper before letting go.  He is surrounded, the cold outside miles away now— there is nothing but Eren’s too-hot skin against his back as he plasters himself to Levi, Erwin’s chest slick with sweat underneath him.  Erwin finds Levi’s cock, and lays his palm flat over it, pinning it against his stomach. Levi grinds helplessly into the pressure, breathing in ragged little huffs, body alight with tension.

 

“C’mon, love, c’mon,” Eren says, voice strained in a way that has become familiar over the past few months.

 

Eren, fighting down his climax, refusing to finish before Levi. 

 

Erwin’s fingers close around his cock and squeeze, and Eren sucks at his throat, and they come one after the other.  Shuddering together, achy and tight and overwhelming, Erwin smiling up at them as they rock through it. 

 

Eren rolls off almost immediately, and Levi is grateful, because he’s heavy as fuck and Levi can’t imagine Erwin would be too pleased about being crushed by the both of them.  Levi doesn’t move, because Erwin is warm and he doesn’t want to go anywhere just yet. They lay in the quiet for a while, all of them catching their breath. Erwin’s hands are moving gently through Levi’s hair, and Eren is kissing along Erwin’s bicep, and everything is drowsy and soft.  The room smells like woodsmoke and cinnamon and sweat, and Levi lets his eyes droop, sleep threatening.

 

Then he groans in realization, come drying sticky on his stomach, dripping wet on the backs of his thighs.

 

“There’s no electricity.  We can’t take a shower,” he says, spitting the words like a curse, and Eren laughs.

 

“The water heater is gas, baby.  You can take a shower if you want.”

 

Levi lets out a moan, and leans over, and kisses him.

 

“I love you,” he says, and they know it’s more than the hot shower.

 

It’s the sleepy tangle they make on Eren’s mattress, Erwin’s toothbrush in the bathroom, Levi’s clothes in the drawers.  It’s waking up, and not feeling that forlorn sort of loneliness, aching for someone he’s never had.

 

It’s home, and Levi doesn’t bother getting dressed; just makes a mad dash across the cold house for the bathroom with a blanket thrown over his shoulders, and turns the hot water up high.

 

He only realizes he never took off Eren’s ugly socks when he’s ready to step into the tub, and Levi laughs, and rolls his eyes.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3<3<3 If y'all have any desire for more erurirens you know you gotta tell me nice things, right?

**Author's Note:**

> Give me some love.


End file.
